The Fugitive & The Scholar
by the.subverter
Summary: Miranda and Jack reunite briefly at Grissom Academy. Follow-up to the Convict & The Loyalist stories. Miranda x Jack
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I could not think of a proper title for this for the life of me. This is a follow up to the Convict & The Loyalist, Loyalist & Convict [oh so cleverly named] stories I did previously. I did say I'd write some more MiriJack after the third game [and I am glad I waited] but ME3 doesn't give you a whole hell of a lot to work with. I did my best. Oh and yes, a good half of this is smut. The other half is a lot of dialogue. The second chapter won't be as smutty but this one is. But this is the first part of two chapters. This takes place just before ME3 events, the second will take place just after, I believe.

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><p>Jack is an unexpected sight. Miranda wryly notes that she's masturbated to a woman who wasn't as attractive. Jack's hair has grown out and she's gained enough weight that she no longer looks emaciated. Her eyes are softer. Miranda reminds herself not to get lost in them. Jack had hurriedly turned around upon Miranda walking into the room. Is she embarrassed? Miranda picks up a digital card addressed to Jack from one of the classes. "I can't believe they've left you in charge of children."<p>

"Fuck you, Cerberus bitch."

She sets the card down. "I'm not Cerberus anymore," she says cuttingly.

"I'll drop the 'Cerberus' part."

Miranda looks around Jack's quarters. Miranda suspects these are the best quarters she's ever had. The space is tidy: there's a desk, desk chair, bed, closet and a bathroom situated to the right. A window covers half of the wall that faces northward, providing a spectacular view of the campus. Miranda arrived only minutes ago, using falsified documents that she isn't sure will go entirely undetected. Kahlee Sanders greeted her upon entry. An exuberant brunette with light blue eyes politely but resentfully brought Miranda to Jack's room.

"I really can't believe that you're allowed to watch over children." Miranda says again. "That one, Rodriguez, has her eyes set on you."

"Yeah, it's hard to miss. Kid's a pain in the ass."

"Taken her to bed yet?"

Jack crinkles her face. "They're my kids. That's fucked up."

Miranda is able to keep a smile from her face. "I'm… mildly relieved to hear that."

"Mildly relieved my ass. We haven't seen each other in months. I can't believe you're still wearing that shit." She gives her a one over.

"You've never minded admiring my assets before." And it isn't as if she has the luxury of shopping for new outfits. Cerberus tracks everything.

Jack scoffs. "That was before."

"And now?" Miranda asks. Jack shrugs. "You look good, Jack. I'm surprised."

"Fuck you."

"You still can't handle a compliment."

Jack looks away from her, throwing data pads around on her desk. She stacks the data pads before sweeping them into a desk drawer. "You still don't know how to give them." She gives up, turns around, pushes the hair back from her face. "Why are you really here?"

A beat. "I wanted to see you. Something's happening," she hurries onward, "something big."

"Your sis?"

Miranda clenches her jaw. "Something more than that. Larger than that." A slight shake of her head.

"You scared, Cheerleader?" Jack frowns and smiles at the same time. "Shit. Whatever it is, pound into it until it stops moving." Miranda is unconvinced. "Works well enough for me." She stops, shrugs her jacket off, throws it on the back of her chair. "That why you're here? Needed someone to beat on the big bad? I owe you for Logasiri. Could take a leave of absence from teaching for a bit," she walks around her, "not too long though. Those little shits would be lost without me."

"I can't believe this." Miranda crosses her arms. "Do you actually care for those children?" A narrowing of her eyes. "You care for them."

"Screw you."

"You do." Miranda ignores Jack's glower. "It doesn't seem so long ago that the both of us were smart enough to not form emotional attachments." Jack's eyebrows lift gently and then she has her back to her again, picking up an errant data pad that has fallen beneath the desk. "Professor Jack."

She throws the data pad on the desk. "Don't make fun of me."

"I'm not."

"You dropped off the grid."

"Yes. I'm afraid it was necessary." Miranda studies the tattoos on Jack's back and her arms. She knows exactly how long it's been since those spindly, muscled arms wrapped around her, since those fingers tattooed with 'DEATH' were inside of her. Her fingers have always been long and knobby, fingertips red, fingernails short and stubby. Always efficient. "Did you miss me?"

Jack scoffs. "That a trick question?"

"Not everything's a trick."

"Usually is with you." Jack reclines into the desk crossing her arms. "Guess you're right, though. It's not always a trick. There was a while when I didn't hear from you in so long—I thought you were dead. Then I remembered you're too stubborn and obnoxious to die. Like a roach or something?"

"A roach? That's charming." Maybe Jack comparing her to a roach is her way of telling Miranda she's missed her.

"Kids think so."

"Children can be very stupid."

"Ah, there's that motherly instinct of yours." She pauses, a grimace on Miranda's face. "How's Ori?"

"Fine," sharply. Then—"I don't know." She averts her eyes. "I've been so busy trying to monitor the people who are monitoring her… Anyway, she's fine, for now. I'm doing everything I can. I've got to keep her safe. Do you understand?"

"Yeah," a wry smirk, "I do. How's everything else?" Miranda arches her eyebrows in question. "Way I hear it, you pissed off the Illusive Man." Miranda tsks with irritation at the mention. "After we went our ways…"

"He's sent some very capable agents my way. Fortunately, I'm more than capable and I always take the right precautions." Except for this venture here. "He'll have to weigh which he prefers more—one dead defector or a graveyard of dead agents."

"I know which one I would've preferred a while back."

"You've changed your mind then?"

"Didn't say that."

"Say it now."

She purses her lips. "After this visit you just going to be gone again?"

"That's a strong possibility. Yes. I will be."

"And you're here for what…" she rolls her neck, presenting nonchalance, "a fuck?"

"I'm here for you." That shuts her up. "I can't stay long."

"So you are here for a fuck. Or something else. That Project Overlord kid is here. Did you know that? That why you're here?"

"I told you I'm not Cerberus anymore. I just told you why I'm here." The declaration sounds very much like a question 'are you stupid?'

She shrugs her shoulders as if the conversation were unimportant. "Sorry. Old habits die hard."

"I don't—" she blinks. "Did you just apologize?"

Jack moves away from the desk. "Don't get used to it, Princess."

"Now you're just being difficult."

"Told you—old habits die hard. We talked more than we fucked. Weird."

"That isn't the only thing we did."

"Fought too, I guess."

"Jack."

Jack keeps her arms crossed and looks out the window to the magnificent architecture of the school, the sloping ivory buildings, the towers and walkways, the gardens, the endlessness of the blue sky. Her profile is perfect. Miranda won't tell her. "Yeah."

"It was a mistake coming here. I should have been stronger. I shouldn't have come. Who knows what danger I've put you and the school in if they've somehow managed to track me here. They've been on my heels for months."

"Yeah? Well let 'em come. I'm training these kids to kick ass. They can take 'em."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Cerberus has changed. The soldiers are stronger—something is different."

"Yeah. Yeah. But like I said—let them come. No one's going to touch my kids. No one."

Miranda smiles quizzically. "They can count on you. I would." Jack looks at her. "It wasn't supposed to turn out like this. After Shepard was grounded and we separated—I really did mean to find you. Everything spun out of control faster than I anticipated. I've barely had a moments rest."

"Haven't been twiddling my fucking thumbs waiting here for you, Cheerleader. Get over yourself. In case you missed it—I've been doing shit, too. Good shit." She frowns. "All of this here… I like it. It… I don't know. Fixes something I never thought could be fixed. I'm helping these kids. Kids that Cerberus—"

"Yes. I know. I thought it might. Who do you think sent the recommendation?" Miranda tenses at having said the words aloud, realizing too late that she shouldn't have. Jack turns to her, eyes narrowed. "You got accepted of your own merit. I've read the reports. Everyone is impressed with your work."

"Why'd you have to meddle?"

"It wasn't meddling. Not really." She's embarrassed. "You like your work. You earned it. There are enough things to be angry about without looking for others."

"Maybe." Her fingers uncurl.

"Jack… I'm happy for you."

Jack rests her hands on her hips as if not knowing what to do with them. "Yeah. Okay. Thanks."

"Are you flustered?" Teasing.

"What? No."

"I can't remember the last time you thanked me for anything."

"Didn't have much to be thankful for, Cheerleader."

"Well… I know better than to keep waiting. I'll have to treasure the one I just got."

Jack smirks.

"You don't look like typical Alliance," Miranda says, "if they put you on a recruiting poster…"

"Fuck that."

"You might be able to pull in a few unconventional recruits," she's closer now, "but what is this you're wearing? Does gauze pass off as clothing these days? This isn't standard Alliance issue." She pulls at the strap along her shoulder. Jack's typically brown eyes pulse biotic blue. "You're showing off so much it leaves little to the imagination."

"Who needs an imagination?"

"I've had to make do," her finger slips beneath the surprisingly stiff fabric. Yes, she's had to make do on many nights, thinking of their time together on the Normandy, remembering the feel of Jack's tongue along her. Her own fingers have had to make do. They've never been enough. "Doesn't this scratch?"

"It's an itch I can reach." Jack's eyes return to their usual brown. She takes Miranda's wrist. "I have class soon." Miranda's disappointed. "So if you came here for me… let me have it. Gotta say, I've missed talking to people," her eyes dart away from Miranda. "Don't really fit in with the Alliance brass. You know these fuckers won't let me swear during lessons? For fuck's sake."

"Regardless you remain a popular teacher." Miranda says. Jack shrugs in response. "What does it feel like? To have people look up to you?"

"And not just think of me as some convict junkie? Can't lie, it's not all bad. But fuck 'em. I'm not here for them—I'm here for these kids. Maybe with a biotic bitch on their side they'll stand a chance—from all those Cerberus assholes and all the other ones who are looking to take advantage of them. Give 'em the shot I never had. Least I can do." She shakes her head. "Fucking Shepard. I should be living the pirate life right now. Instead I'm teaching kids how to use their powers safely? She's fucked me in the head."

"Shepard has a way of doing that."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Miranda goes to the window. Time is running out and they're wasting what little of it they've got. "We left things…undecided. It was good, wasn't it?"

"The scissoring?"

Miranda frowns. "That isn't exactly what I meant." Though that wasn't bad either. She sighs. "I'm not fooling myself. This isn't a story where you leave this world behind and we become fugitives on the run. That's all very romantic—"

"Didn't think you found anything romantic."

"But…unrealistic."

"Where does that leave us?"

"You tell me." They've never been ones to ignore the elephant in the room and yet they're both dancing around the issue. "I wanted to see a familiar face." She sighs, depressed. "Yours is the only one I couldn't resist. I had to see you, in person."

"Why?" Jack looks out the window.

Miranda looks at her. "Do you have to ask why?"

Jack shifts the weight from one leg to another. "Asked that question a lot since you've been gone. Never gotten an answer."

"You know the answer."

They turn to each other at the same time. There's a moment of uncertainty and then they clutch at each other, lips coming together heatedly. Jack's kiss is ferocious but not violent like before. This is different. This is passion. Miranda's hands seize the gauze 'clothing' she wears and rips it away. Jack's eyes glow blue as their mouths find each other again. Miranda's hands slide to Jack's breasts, nipples hardening beneath her touch.

Miranda hears fabric tearing, buttons from her uniform coming away until Jack has peeled away the jacket she wears, has taken her face in her hands and kissed her again. Miranda is irritated at how her head spins.

"I've thought of you," Miranda murmurs between kisses, Jack's mouth on the corner of her lips, the words barely escaping, the words just swallowed. "I've thought of you more than I can say."

"Tell me," the hoarseness of her voice is a greater vice than her fingers on her face.

"Every day," Miranda confesses.

Jack's eyes soften. Miranda crushes their lips together again, tongues tangling hotly before breaking the kiss, circling her lips around Jack's nipples, gloriously exposed, as opposed to just barely hidden by straps she calls clothing. Jack's hand tangles in Miranda's hair, gripping tightly, bringing her closer, wanting her tongue and teeth. "Ah, fuck," she gasps. Miranda continues her efforts, hands sliding to Jack's hips to tug her pants down. "I have class soon," she hisses.

"We have time." But it's a lie. They don't have time, not nearly enough of it. This is a stall tactic, this is all she'll have for who knows how long. Maybe the rest of her life.

Miranda leads her to the bed, pushes her down on her knees, moving swiftly behind her, pressed to her back. Jack reaches behind her, hand settling on Miranda's ass and pulling her close. Miranda circles an arm around Jack's shoulders, sliding a hand between Jack's legs. Jack's legs tremble, her breasts heaving. Miranda's fingers trail along the inside of her thigh, searching and moving upward until they arrive, stroking Jack's wet center until her breaths come in sharp stabs of air. She takes a deep, shaking breath when Miranda places a solitary kiss to her shoulder.

"Cheerleader…" Jack is all irritation. Miranda places another kiss on her neck. "Princess…" The agitated tone is only half-there now, sounding pained. Miranda's fingers slide along her slick folds, tracing her edges before she eases two fingers inside her. Jack shudders around her, taking a rasping breath. Miranda inserts another finger and Jack cries out. Miranda doesn't recall her sounding this way, vulnerable and demanding.

Miranda gently pushes on Jack's shoulder until the woman is on all fours in front of her. She settles a hand on the small of her back and withdraws her fingers, listening to the scratchy tones of Jack's voice, her cries small and drawn out. When Miranda thrusts her fingers into Jack again she takes hold of her hip, pulling her back. Jack cries out again. "Goddamn it," Jack's fingers clutch the sheets of the bed, "how can you still do this to me?"

Miranda bows, pressing her full lips to Jack's back. She has remembered the pattern to her tattoos perfectly, no surprise there. Her flesh is still so hot. "Do you want me to stop?" she murmurs.

"I'll fucking kill you."

"I should stop," her fingers exit, finding her clit, grazing it at first before rubbing it until Jack is reduced to soft, pitiful sounds. Miranda can't remember the last time she was so excited, the last time she wanted to be taken with so much force. But this is another first, at least for a lover—she wants to satisfy Jack until she surrenders wholly to her.

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't…" Jack pants, "please. Miranda…" she sighs again, "Miranda, I…"

Miranda presses to her, Jack's hips still raised, arching into her hand. Miranda flips her on her back, kneeling between her legs. Jack's thighs wrap around her hips. Miranda gives her no relief, fingers working tirelessly between Jack's legs, listening to her every pitch and hitch of breath, paying close attention to the rising and falling of her moans, eyes burning bright blue one moment, back to brown in the next before Jack twists up and brings their mouths together. Jack's fingers dig beneath the pants Miranda wears, she yanks them down. It isn't enough to remove them but it's more than enough to give her the access she needs. The kiss is bruising but not as deliciously powerful as the fingers that Jack slips into Miranda, making her moan into Jack's mouth.

Jack's fingers actually pulse and vibrate. A new use for biotics? How juven—Miranda gasps at the same time that Jack does. Jack's touch is relentless. She speaks filth into her ear that makes Miranda wetter still. If Miranda's mind could form thoughts—"Ah—!" she pushes against Jack's fingers, pushing her further inside, never letting her own fingers abandon their task, there's motion and friction until they're not bothering to contain their groans, incapable of manners or consideration for any who might be passing in the halls. They kneel, bodies mashed together, riding each other's fingers, free hands digging painfully into each others hips but they don't notice, won't notice until later after they're long gone and the bruises have formed.

Until then: this. The searing, scalding kisses, the persistent tongues gliding along each others, tracing lips, the playful bites until all they're reduced to are delirious and breathless sighs, eyes locked in a daze and they shake, shake as the pleasure tears through them and leaves them breathless.

They're quiet for a minute.

Miranda touches her face and recognizes that in some instances memories are hardly suitable substitutes for the real thing. "I wish I could stay."

"Yeah," her voice is scratchy, her eyes heavy and half-lidded. "Miranda…" She burrows her face in her neck. They fall back on the bed, still trying to catch their breath. "I needed that. I needed…" she closes her eyes, draping an arm along her forehead.

Miranda continues to glide her fingers along Jack, feeling her small quakes beneath her touch. "Maybe after this business with Cerberus…"

"Yeah. Yeah." She looks at her. "If you need help—"

"Thanks. But I've got a handle on it. Not that I don't appreciate it." She sighs and sits up, pulling up the pants that Jack had crudely shoved down. "I've stayed longer than I meant to. Thank you, Jack. This is the first time since everything that I've been able to… be at peace. It never lasts, of course." It pains her that for all their time apart, their reunion is limited to less than an hour.

Jack lifts her hips to yank her pants up. She sits up. Her hair came loose sometime during their tryst and she ties it up again. "Guess this is another goodbye." She scoffs. "Why'd you even come back?"

Miranda doesn't know why she's stung. "So this was a mistake?"

"Wouldn't say that."

"What would you say?"

"You make it impossible to forget about you." Jack slides off the bed and gets to her feet, rubbing her fingers gently. She keeps her back to her.

Miranda remembers the size and pressure of them inside of her, can still almost feel them working her like a phantom. If only she could stay. "That would make us even."

"You know…" Jack's voice is small. Miranda waits. Jack shakes her head. Miranda stands and buttons her jacket. "Hey. We ever going to see each other again?"

"There was a point when we were making plans." They had made plans tentatively after they'd defeated the Collectors. All of them had fallen through. Oriana came first. Oriana always has to come first. Miranda contacting Grissom Academy on Jack's account had been a consolation prize, her way of making amends. Was it enough?

"That was a while back."

"So you remember."

"I haven't forgotten anything." A beeping goes off. Jack looks at the alarm clock on the nightstand. "Time for class." She fixes the gauze fabric material along her chest, strategically covering herself. Miranda sees why the students have a crush. Jack throws her jacket on. She looks at the door as if it were the end of the line. "You'd better be careful. You'd better not do anything stupid." She clutches Miranda's jacket and pulls her close.

"Is that a threat?" She allows a faint smile. "I can't promise anything." She sees the look in Jack's eyes and stoops to lying, for once, for the sake of someone else and not for her own gain. "Fine. I promise." Shepard would laugh.

Jack looks at her, eyes narrowed, leaning closer. "I'll fucking kill you if you don't." she reluctantly releases her. "I have to teach the twerps how to throw up some decent barriers. You'd think this shit was rocket science." She walks slowly to the door. "Miranda…"

Miranda waits.

"Thanks for the fuck." Jack watches her. Miranda stares at her. "You have another word for what we just did? Yeah, we've done the other thing. That wasn't it, though." Miranda doesn't have a response. If they'd 'done the other thing' she isn't sure she could walk away. "Hey. You know what I mean. Don't you?"

"Jack… we're too old for these games."

Jack waffles where she stands. "Come here." Miranda does. "You always make me feel like I'm losing my shit. Even when I finally have a grip on things, you know?"

"I think I might have an idea."

"It's like I'm safe… but scared out of my mind at the same time. Shit. I hate what you do to my head." They share another small kiss. Miranda tucks a lock of hair behind Jack's ear. Jack blushes. "Look… I care about you." She looks away. "You're important to me. So don't fucking go and die on me, okay? Give Cerberus hell."

She exits the room swiftly, not leaving Miranda the opportunity to say goodbye. Miranda looks around the room and tries to remember every piece of Jack, every shred of her world.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: And this is the end. ME3 really doesn't give you much to work with and I had no interest in recapping their missions. I wish they'd have let _anyone_ (of the new ME2 crew) be on the Normandy in the third game. Either way, I don't think I'll be writing any more Miranda and Jack (sadly). As promised, more romance, less smut. Thanks to Allusive Man for editing and everyone else for reading!

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><p>Jack moves away from the dance floor leaving Shepard to embarrass herself. Jack's spotted her. She'd recognize that ass anywhere. She knows those eyes, glowing like eezo in the dark. She runs the last few steps and forcefully shoves Miranda into a dark corner of Purgatory. Miranda turns, surprised, slamming into the wall. The heavy beat of the music reverberates through the floor, creating mini-earthquakes under her feet, pulsing beneath her hand slammed to the wall beside Miranda's head.<p>

Or maybe it's some other shit that's making her unsteady. Miranda cocks her head up, appraising her, waiting for her to make her move.

Jack grits her jaw and brings her face close, their usual fuck-you fuck-me menace. "Your pals at Cerberus tried to take my kids, _kill_ my kids. _Killed _one of them. Fuckers."

"Do we have to do this here?"

"Why the fuck are you here? You're a perfectionist—scope a place before you move in, you fucking _knew_ I was here. Had to. And you were what, walking away? You're full of shit!" That's always been obvious, no need to say it, no need to practically shout it. What about the last time they were together at Grissom? Where Miranda made it sound like she gave a shit?

"You looked busy," she inclines her head to the dance floor, "with Shepard."

Jack scowls. Jack's never danced with Miranda. The thought nearly makes her blush. Something so ordinary, with them, too intimate… She doesn't get Miranda. She doesn't get how Miranda acts… like somehow she knows that she and Shepard fucked the one time. As if it meant anything. She was down and she needed some medicine. Meds weren't available. Miranda wasn't available. Shepard was. "Shepard doesn't know how to move. Not like you do."

This brings a faint, haughty smile to Miranda's lips before arrogance gives way to caution. "Do you want to clarify why you've just slammed me into a club wall? Are you angry because I walked away—or because you're still under the delusion that I work for Cerberus?" Jack glares. "You know I've severed my connections to them. Is this a genuine accusation…or are you just being a bitch?"

"Why are you here?"

"I had business with Shepard."

"What kind of business?"

"Not the sort you deal in." Miranda says, her voice icy as it used to be. Jack hasn't heard it in so long that it's disconcerting. Maybe something shows on her face. Miranda's eyes drop, her jaw tightening. She shakes her head once. "I haven't heard from her. From Ori," she whispers the last. "It's been—it's been too long. She's responsible. She knows what's at stake. If there's no word then…"

Jack stills. "Communication's down everywhere. Fucking reapers," this is the first mention of the menace that's threatening to blow earth and the rest of the shit galaxy to pieces. First the fucking Collectors, now the goddamn reapers. You'd think that'd be the priority. "Maybe…"

Miranda shakes her head. "No. I've accounted for that. He found her. The bastard's found her. I'm sure of it."

Jack isn't sure if it's the flashing lights or the brightness of Miranda's eyes that makes them look as if they're shimmering, wet. It's fucking weird to see Miranda like this. Hasn't seen it since the last time—when Shepard let her walk away from Oriana. Jack's glad Miranda ended up contacting her anyway. "Shit." _Shit_. "Hey," her voice is too gruff, too much like she's yelling at some dipshit who took something from her. She ducks her head, brushing her fingers against Miranda's wrist. "You okay?"

"I'm not important. I have to get to her. I have to find her before he gets to her. Maybe he's only cut the line of communication and… she's on the run trying to find some way to get a hold of me. I just have to make sure that I get to her before he does."

"You will. You're perfect, right?" Jack slaps her arm. Miranda shakes her head. "You won't fuck this up." Jack tries to smile but can't find the energy for it. If that asshole takes Oriana, what will Miranda do? Lose her shit. Go on a rampage. She isn't sure. But she doesn't want to wait and find out. Miranda won't look at her. Jack wonders if shoving her into a wall when she's in this condition was the best idea. She cradles Miranda's face in her hand. "Get your shit together, Miranda. No point in falling apart now. You can do this. You'll take care of business."

"Yeah. I have to." Her voice is near the point of tears. Jack doesn't want to hear it break. She kisses her. Tender. Miranda's fingers come tentatively to her arms, settling, gripping carefully. If she's shaking, it's because of the fucking bass.

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><p>"I heard about Grissom," Miranda tells Jack, back to her, typing frantically into a laptop, checking her omni-tool every few minutes. She sits at Jack's desk in the room assigned to her in the Citadel. Maybe being in the Alliance has some perks. All she's gotta do is babysit kids, prepare them for war. Shit. "I'm sorry about your students. Especially Prangley."<p>

"Yeah." Jack crosses her arms, leans into the wall beside the desk, watching Miranda work. She convinced her to stay a little while longer. Who the fuck knows where Oriana is? She's gotta pick up some leads first. Might as well do that somewhere safe. Somewhere where someone's got her back. "Good student. Good soldier. Hell of a biotic. But people die. Especially if Cerberus is involved. Goddamn it, he should've been watching his back. I should've been paying more attention. There was a lot going on."

"It wasn't your fault."

She shakes her head. Doesn't make her feel any better. "Fucking Cerberus."

Miranda stops typing and looks up. "I don't know why they went there. Initially I suspected they were looking for me. A scan of some of their networks revealed that they were looking for you, Prangley," she grimaces, "and that girl, Rodriguez. I knew there were casualties. Initial reports didn't list names."

Jack smirks mildly. "Were you worried about me?"

"At first… and then I remembered you were more than capable enough." She runs a hand through her hair and turns back to the laptop. "Then I worried again. Didn't you notice it about them? Cerberus isn't the same."

"Remember when Cerberus ran crazy scientists, not soldiers? The fuck were those things? Husks…? You were right… they weren't the usual Cerberus clowns. What'd Cerberus do to them?"

"I'm not sure. Cerberus has always wanted the advancement of humanity. But this… All I know is that Cerberus has changed."

"They were always so fluffy before."

"I know we won't see eye to eye on this. And for what it's worth… you were right. About a lot of it. But not everything. They were better than this. They believed in a higher goal."

"You and me—we're the result of their fucked up higher goals. You think that's right? You think we are?" she growls.

Miranda frowns. "Maybe not. But we can't change any of that now. We are what we are. And it's helped us—no matter how much we may have suffered." Her eyes stray at the last. She stands, forgetting the computer. "I can't find anything," she sighs. "The trail's gone cold. What little of it there was. I'll have to connect with my other contacts. Damn it. I'll be exposed like this… but what choice is there?"

Jack bites her tongue for the first time in her life. What's Miranda supposed to do? Let her kid sister die so she doesn't have to stick her neck out? No way. That's not Miranda. "You'll be careful and you'll find her."

"I can't be careful, not from this point forward. If I'm too careful—I could lose my chance." Her smile is shaky. "Here we are again."

"You're going?"

"I can't stay here."

"What will you do?" she clasps a hand around Miranda's wrist. "Nothing you can do about it right now, is there? You don't know where to start—you said it yourself, the trail is cold." She lets her go. "Work here if you have to. I mean…" she looks up at the ceiling and then at Miranda. "Fuck, we haven't even talked about the Reapers."

Miranda narrows her eyes, considers, flicks her eyes to Jack. "What about them?"

"They're wiping us out, Cheerleader," she paces. "This galaxy coming to an end bullshit is really starting to piss me off." She stops and looks at Miranda. "I've been thinking… since everything… Collectors and Grissom…this business with Cerberus and now the Reapers…" she exhales. "Shit. What if this is it?"

"You've always seemed ready to throw your life away."

"Yeah. That was before. Things are different now." She frowns. "I don't want this to be the end. I'm prepping kids for war. Half of them aren't going to make it. That's what I tell em when I'm putting on a good show. One of those beams… I've seen the news. I'm not stupid." Miranda is quiet, her eyes far away. Jack takes a breath. "I don't." Jack steels herself, closes her eyes, clenches her fists. "I don't want you to die."

Miranda smiles faintly. "That's sweet."

Her cheeks heat. She should kill the bitch. "Don't fucking make fun of me…!"

"I'm not." She says softly. "This is all…" she utters a small laugh. "The timing in all of this… is just incredible." Jack waits. "I'll do my best to stay alive—if you make sure to do the same."

"I'd like to see a reaper try to take me out."

"I wouldn't." A frown. She bites her lower lip. "Jack…" she ducks her face before looking at her. "I don't want to lose this." She takes her fingertips. "I don't want to lose you. Or us." She scowls. "Now say – whatever incredibly stupid and rude thing you're going to say and then…"

"Then?" Jack waits. Miranda is quiet. "Do you think we could ever work? Really work?"

"Sure. When the galaxy isn't on the brink of extinction. Is that…something you want?" Miranda asks. Jack averts her eyes. "It's what I want."

"This doesn't make sense."

"It does. You know it does. You're just being stubborn."

"Maybe. Yeah. Fuck." She covers her face with her hands, turns around and walks away. She walks back moments later. "I don't know how to do this. I've never _had_ to do this. I've never wanted to."

"We may not have the chance. All things considered," she mutters. "But…I want to try. Don't you?"

Jack stops moving. "Yeah. I do."

"It won't be easy," she takes her hands, "and for all we know, we'll never see each other again. Funny how we keep having this conversation. Tomorrow morning I'll have to go again. Oriana…"

"Yeah. I get it."

"I'm sorry." Miranda says. Jack shakes the apology away. "But tonight… Tonight I want you. Tonight I'm yours. If you want me. If you'll have me."

Jack's grazes her cheek. "I want it. You. Us. This. All of it. Wish like hell that I didn't. Guess this is some kind of joke. Falling for Cerberus' top operative."

"I told you—"

"Yeah, I know. Come on, you gotta let me give you shit. Wouldn't be right between us if we weren't pissing each other off. Admit it. That's foreplay." Jack waits. But all Miranda allows is a half roll of her eyes, the lifting of the corners of her lips. "Do I really get you for the rest of the night? Sure you can put all your shit away for that long?" she asks nodding to the computer.

"I can… for you." Miranda says. "Who knew… that all it'd take for you to admit feelings for me was an attack from the Reapers?"

"They're a bigger pain in the ass than you are." Jack smiles, drawing Miranda to her.

* * *

><p>Miranda tries not to breathe.<p>

The heavy dust cloud is nearly impenetrable. It's impossible to see more than a foot in front of her. She pushes through, moving towards the shouts, towards the explosions.

She sees her when she exits, amongst the debris and the chaos of London.

Jack turns too, slowly, following something else with her eyes before they land on her. Miranda's heart stops. Time stops. Then everything is flooding back. Her frozen heart beats furiously. She walks faster. Jack does the same, going towards her. They stop just short of each other. Jack's face is coated in dirt, there's dried blood on her clothing. She looks Miranda up and down, disbelieving.

Miranda has never seen anyone or anything so beautiful. "You made it," she says breathlessly. Her hands find Jack's face, holding it too tightly. Her eyes brim with tears. Miranda knows that at any other time she'd be humiliated and feel foolish. For now she is grateful. For now she has Jack.

"I don't know what to say," Jack's voice shakes. "Had all these things planned out—" she shakes her head, her lips parting when Miranda kisses her. Jack's arms wrap tentatively around Miranda until they're crushing her close. The kiss is heated but short-lived. Jack touches Miranda's face. "I was hoping you'd keep your ass alive."

"I'm tougher than I look," Miranda says. Brave, ironic words given how Jack wipes the tears from the corner of her eyes. Miranda smiles.

"Damn right you're tough," she leans in close again, whispering just before she gently brings their lips together again. "That's my girl."

Miranda's knees go weak.

* * *

><p>They sit inside a ramshackle of a tent that's in tatters, on an Alliance cot. A garbage can outside sends flames reaching skyward. Despite the chill of the night, Jack isn't cold. Their hands are laced between them. There isn't too much to say. The Reapers are dead. But they're not the only ones. No one knows how bad the loss is yet. But they've survived. That about covers it.<p>

"Think Shepard made it?" Jack asks.

"I hope so," Miranda says longingly. "If we have peace now… it's because of her."

Jack wonders how long Miranda will live in Shepard's shadow. Even all these years later she acts like Shepard's got something that she lacks. Her father did some job on her. "Did you find your sister? Is she…?"

"Yes." She blinks as if remembering her. "Henry Lawson is dead."

"Shepard?"

"No." Miranda glances down when Jack squeezes her hand. "We're safe now. Oriana and I. With that son of a bitch gone we can finally lead our lives. We won't have to hide anymore."

It's strange to feel relief for someone else, for someone she would have paid to kill years ago. She's still settling into the role of giving a shit about others. Miranda Lawson of all people. Can't figure out how it feels. Not bad. Maybe she isn't as broken as she thought. "What happens to you?"

"I don't know. But whatever it is—it'll be my choice. It won't be motivated by fear or strategy but by what _I_ want. It…will take some getting used to. In some ways, much of my life has been guided by survival." She smiles wryly. "A concept you may be familiar with?"

Jack laughs softly. "Yeah. Maybe."

"I've hardly had time to consider myself. For years my focus has been Oriana. But she's safe now. And grown. I'll always be close to her—but she can decide what she wants for her life. That's important. I'm glad she can have that, without fear. As for me… where ever life takes me…" she pauses. "I'd like for you to be a part of it. I'd like for you to have a hand in the decision making."

The unfamiliarity and implications nearly leave her speechless. But she responds quickly, defensively. "Cool, so I get to make the decisions?"

"That isn't what I said," Miranda snaps. She stops— noticing the glimmer of a smile on Jack's lips. "Will you ever tire of getting under my skin?"

"If I couldn't get under your skin, how would I know you care?" Shit.

"So you want me to care now?" She says, clearly enjoying herself. _Shit_. "I can think of many ways to show my appreciation," Miranda says, frowning and smiling in one. Jack is grateful to be sitting. Miranda is…disorienting. It's strange, taking comfort in being…out of control. It's different than before. "So…"

"So…" Jack takes a breath. "Let's figure some shit out. For the both of us." She looks at her. "Together."

They kiss with the confidence that it won't be their last.


End file.
